Happy #EarthWeek! Kicking off #EarthWeekxAstrobites2024 in 10 minutes is our discussion with Canadian Indigenous Astronomer Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton who will share with us different paths of indigenizing Astronomy and the making of the #OneSkyProject!!
EARTH WEEK 𝓍 astrobites 2024 Rediscovering our knowledge: All under One Sky Headshot of Professor Laurie Rousseau-Nepton Mon. Apr 22 10:30 AM EDT (1430 UTC) Canadian Indigenous Astronomer Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton is inviting you for an immersive journey into the First Nation of Canada’s perspective on our Universe. Oral tradition and its stories often reveal a deep understanding of astronomical phenomenons from the physics concepts to the complex interaction between our environment on Earth, the seasons, and the movement of the celestial bodies. Ultimately aiming at reviving ancestral knowledge, she will also discuss different paths to indigenizing astronomy by transforming both our ways of talking about science, teaching, and conducting research. Dr. Rousseau-Nepton will share the process of creating the One Sky Project, an international collaboration focused on increasing understanding about cultural and… on the right side is a promotional photo of the OneSky Project

ALT EARTH WEEK 𝓍 astrobites 2024 Rediscovering our knowledge: All under One Sky Headshot of Professor Laurie Rousseau-Nepton Mon. Apr 22 10:30 AM EDT (1430 UTC) Canadian Indigenous Astronomer Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton is inviting you for an immersive journey into the First Nation of Canada’s perspective on our Universe. Oral tradition and its stories often reveal a deep understanding of astronomical phenomenons from the physics concepts to the complex interaction between our environment on Earth, the seasons, and the movement of the celestial bodies. Ultimately aiming at reviving ancestral knowledge, she will also discuss different paths to indigenizing astronomy by transforming both our ways of talking about science, teaching, and conducting research. Dr. Rousseau-Nepton will share the process of creating the One Sky Project, an international collaboration focused on increasing understanding about cultural and… on the right side is a promotional photo of the OneSky Project

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We will be live tweeting the event as well as posting a summary / recap and recording (and will do this for all the events this week!!)
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Canadian Indigenous Astronomer Laurie Rousseau-Nepton (@AstronomeLaurie) walks us through her background both as a Pekuakamiulnuatsh person (Pekuakamiulnuatsh People make up one of the nine Innu First Nations of the province of Québec) as well as an astronomer.
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She notes that she is speaking from her perspective as an Innu Woman. She recalls that when she got her PhD in 2017, she was asked for the First Nations perspective on the 2017 solar eclipse, but she was not aware of any story, though she knew there had to be.
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This started her journey into getting re-connected with the oral traditions of her people, which got lost after years of colonization. She notes the diversity of cultures within Canada as well, and shares a few astronomy-related Innu words.
The People and the Diversity: a slide with a map of different First Nations in Canada including some of their associated cultural attire/artifacts.

ALT The People and the Diversity: a slide with a map of different First Nations in Canada including some of their associated cultural attire/artifacts.

Slide sharing Few Innu's Words: Star: "Utshekatak" Spirit: "Atshak" Milky Way: "Tshipai meshkanau" (Path of the dead)

ALT Slide sharing Few Innu's Words: Star: "Utshekatak" Spirit: "Atshak" Milky Way: "Tshipai meshkanau" (Path of the dead)

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She then recounts the relationship that her culture (and other Indigenous cultures) have with the sky. She starts her story at "a time when everyone was an astronomer" because the night sky is something all of human kind shares.
a picture of the night sky with the Milky Way with the caption "A time when everyone was an astronomer"

ALT a picture of the night sky with the Milky Way with the caption "A time when everyone was an astronomer"

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There are many ways that we can learn from our ancestors; Prof. Rousseau-Nepton looks into the stories and the oral tradition of her People, which had its own difficulty in gathering because it has been eroded through time and colonization.
Slide showing the ways people remember from the past (writing, monuments, tools, stories)

ALT Slide showing the ways people remember from the past (writing, monuments, tools, stories)

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One of the stories she kindly shares with us is how the Milky Way's alignment with Earth matched the migration of the summer birds, which represented either the coming of spring or the start of winter.
slide depicting flight of birds on top of the Milky Way background, representative of the story that Prof. Rousseau-Nepton shares about how the alignment of the Milky Way along the sky informed migration patterns

ALT slide depicting flight of birds on top of the Milky Way background, representative of the story that Prof. Rousseau-Nepton shares about how the alignment of the Milky Way along the sky informed migration patterns

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While researching her community's stories, Prof. Rousseau-Nepton was approached by the people making the #OneSkyProject, which started out in Hawai‘i but spread globally. The goal was to share how different cultures across the world used astronomy to live in harmony with Earth.
Slide depicting One Sky Project with 7 Planetarium Film Shorts. There are 6 different cultures represented

ALT Slide depicting One Sky Project with 7 Planetarium Film Shorts. There are 6 different cultures represented

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The #OneSkyProject's film shorts (free and available for anyone to watch/use at oneskyproject.org/) highlight the knowledge of indigenous communities from across the globe and began in 2019.
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Replying to @AstronomeLaurie
At first, the members "talked story." They found so many connections across their stories & settled on 2 main themes: "seek far" and "find patterns." The 6 groups highlighted are Hawaiian, Innu, Navajo, Japanese, Indian, Greek. Below are 360° renders of the shorts. #OneSkyProject
360 rendering of the film on the Native Hawaiian culture (Kānaka Maoli: Wayfinders).

ALT 360 rendering of the film on the Native Hawaiian culture (Kānaka Maoli: Wayfinders).

360 rendering of the film on astronomy in 18th century India (India: Jai Singh's Dream)

ALT 360 rendering of the film on astronomy in 18th century India (India: Jai Singh's Dream)

360 rendering of the film for the Innu (First Nations of Canada) People (Innu: Celestial Canoe)

ALT 360 rendering of the film for the Innu (First Nations of Canada) People (Innu: Celestial Canoe)

360 rendering of the film for the ancient Greeks (Ancient Greks: The Forge of Artemis)

ALT 360 rendering of the film for the ancient Greeks (Ancient Greks: The Forge of Artemis)

Apr 22, 2024 · 4:04 PM UTC

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Prof. Rousseau-Nepton, who spent 6 years on the Island of Hawai‘i working at the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Observatory talks about how it is important to recognize that astronomy *must* work with Native populations, which historically has not happened correctly.
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She ends with connecting the story of the Summer Bird, and how it is linked to [end of] the glacial period. (More on the story here from an Elder, Joséphine Bacon nametauinnu.ca/en/culture/sp…).
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She beautifully notes "the story is painting the night sky and traveled across thousands of yrs from the Glaciation period to today, so we can remember this happened" → the story of Earth's past can be seen in the stories of our ancestors.
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Knowing how our ancestors made sense of the world helps us connect with our Earth today. "And why do we remember it?" "Because it's beautifully, poetically written in the sky, and not only [was it told] after generation after generation, but it [is] also seen in the sky."
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Prof. Rousseau-Nepton shares how the journey from 2017-2024 spanning 2 eclipses has changed her. She is so much more connected and able to share the Innu perspective. Learn more about Indigenous knowledge regarding the Solar Eclipse in the video below youtube.com/watch?v=zcTTHlLA…!
Prof. Rousseau-Nepton (top left in blue) with two other collaborators who speak on Indigenous Knowledge surrounding the Total Solar Eclipse

ALT Prof. Rousseau-Nepton (top left in blue) with two other collaborators who speak on Indigenous Knowledge surrounding the Total Solar Eclipse

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We had a Q+A session that we will fully summarize in the recap posted. Some highlights include Q: "How has reconnecting with your oral tradition affected your relationship to the land/Earth now?"
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A:"It just makes so much more sense. I even feel more connected to my [astronomy] work...this belief that we come from the stars and we return to the stars, it's been on the land for so long, and I naturally, without knowing this, was studying generations of stars and its cycle!"
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A (cont'd):"There's always a reason for things. I always tell people...you know, it's our Sky. When you go home and you look at the night sky, you recognize it. I was living in Hawai‘i and now I am back to Canada; it's my Sky and I *feel* the difference. You know you're Home."
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A (cont'd): "But still, it's all the same Sky, and by studying it, it makes even more sense, because we feel like we're on the path of our ancestors; we are just continuing the work that they have all started thousands of years ago."
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That's it for now; we will share more in our recap within the next days, and share the recording. We really thank @AstronomeLaurie for her time, and sharing with us deeply personal and important stories. See you on Wednesday for our next #EarthWeekxAstrobites2024 event!
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